An Iranian attack on Qatar would cause ‘extensive damage’ to a major powerhouse

Qatar said on Wednesday that Iranian missiles had caused “extensive damage” in the industrial city of Ras Laffan, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas, or LNG, export facility.

Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the attack as a “dangerous escalation, a clear violation of the state’s sovereignty and a direct threat to its national security and regional stability”.

Qatar reserves the right to respond in accordance with the right of self-defense guaranteed under international law, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Brent is raw Prices, the international benchmark, were up more than 7% at $111.23 by 4:52 pm ET.

US West Texas Intermediate crude Up nearly 4% at $100.04.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to attack energy facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after Israel bombed an Iranian natural gas refinery.

According to a social media post by state-owned Qatar Energy, emergency teams have been deployed to control the fire at Ras Laffan. No casualties were reported. Qatar’s interior ministry said the fire at the facility was initially brought under control.

Qatar suspended LNG production on March 2 due to Iranian drone strikes in Ras Laffan and Masaid Industrial City. According to figures from energy consultancy Kpler, the Gulf state is the world’s second-largest LNG exporter after US Qatar accounts for about 20% of global LNG exports.

Increasing attacks on Middle East oil and gas infrastructure threaten to intensify the massive energy supply disruption triggered by the Iran war.

Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed due to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels. The strait is a major trade choke point for oil, with about 20% of the world’s supplies passing through it before the war.

Brent prices could average $130 in the second and third quarters if there are widespread attacks on energy infrastructure and the Strait remains closed for longer periods, Citigroup analysts told clients in a report on Wednesday.